New privacy bill requires apps to disclose how they share personal data

Users could even have their data deleted when collected by an app.

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) just introduced the "Apps Act," a bill that would require app developers to have privacy policies detailing how they share user data.

Under the bill, users must be shown privacy policies and sign off on them before using an app. That could lead to the kind of long click-wrap agreements users face when they log into a lot of software. To comply, policies have to make the user aware of any sharing with third-parties like advertising networks. Privacy advocates have criticized that kind of sharing, especially when consumers aren't made aware of what kind of data is being shared.

If a user stops using an app and asks for data collection to stop or be deleted, the app developer would have to comply. Enforcement of the privacy rules would be up to the Federal Trade Commission.

"Data has become the oil of the 21st century and like any other resource, there must be common-sense rules of the road for this emerging challenge," Johnson explained on the House floor today.

Currently, websites and apps are required to have privacy policies because of California state law, not federal law. Last year, California Attorney General Kamala Harris told app developers to start publishing their privacy policies or face serious fines. In December, Harris' office even sued Delta Airlines for not having a privacy policy on their mobile app.